Margaret Blake Alverson

author

Margaret Blake Alverson

1836–1923

A singer, voice teacher, and writer from early California, she spent decades helping shape the state’s musical life. Her memoir offers a firsthand look at concerts, churches, opera, and everyday artistic life in the 19th century.

1 Audiobook

Sixty Years of California Song

Sixty Years of California Song

by Margaret Blake Alverson

About the author

Born in Illinois on June 12, 1836, Margaret Blake Alverson came to Stockton, California, in November 1851. She built a long career in music, first singing in churches, then performing in opera, and later teaching voice to generations of students.

Archival records describe her as a major figure in California music education, noting that she taught for about 40 years and worked with more than 1,000 pupils. She also wrote Sixty Years of California Song (1913), a memoir that preserves her memories of musical life in California across much of the 19th century.

She died in Oakland on January 17, 1923. Today, her papers and published work remain valuable for readers interested in California history, women’s cultural work, and the everyday world of music in the American West.